Civic Society say Sudan peace is at risk

May 4, 2008 — This statement is produced in an abnormal situation where the CSOs in Sudan to date failed to get the joint report of the Gnu and the Goss, UN and World Bank to the donors for the last three years. All parties in the NNGOs and INGOs would have had an occasion to raise their views and recommendations on up to date figures and information.

In the absence of this we in the civil society North and South agreed to post our recommendations we reached through consensus representing various social activists in the civil society who came up in the monumental and transparent conference held in Juba(June 2007) by CSOs from both the South and North.

On fact that need to be emphasized is that the processes of peace, good governance and democratization is at risk simply because the CSOs are left out. The GNU and GoSS, relatively speaking stand fast and strong at the gates of the civil space to curb our movement, mobility, and watch dog role and expounding their bureaucratic chains to implement projects. For this reason the basic needs provision is at stalemate as their eye on privatization of services and the so called cost sharing. Thus t he poor are left out of the peace dividends.

Poverty is expanding in leaps and bounce and the projects selected by the mdtf are far from the priorities of our people have just come out from a protracted conflict and some parts such Dar Fur are still entangled in the mud of war, conflict and chaos . The CSOs appeal for the consortium to ensure that the resources that are forthcoming for the next three years must be addressing and achieving changes in the following sectors.

5- BASIC FREEDOMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

• Develop common vision/goal/objective for CSOs in North, South, East and West Sudan to promote basic freedoms & human rights

• Promote and strengthen CBOs at the grassroots levels in Sudan as they are more directly involved with the communities on the ground.

• Establish and mobilize CSOs/ CBOs in order to build their capacities

• CSOs to lobby for amendments of laws that are restrictive/repressive

• Other means of raising awareness should be explored rather than rely on one mode of creating /raising awareness on issues that affect the community

2- PEACE BUILDING, DIVIDENDS AND THE RIGHT TO SECURITY

• Support for reconciliation and ounselling programmes and efforts from both government and partners should be encouraged.

• CSOs should advocate for security and development.

• CSOs need to work and ask for better working space from the government.

• Empowerment of local NGOs by the government, international NGOs and the international community at large.

• Advocate & lobby for CSOs empowerment in the Country through campaigns.

• Military and security budgets must be reduced to increase resources for rehabilitation and development.

3- DEMOCRACY, GOVERNANCE AND THE RULE OF LAW

• The GNU and GoSS should implement the CPA fully.

• CSOs should advocate for legislations that protect women and children.

• There should be general reforms of legal bodies.

• There should be a change from military to civilian authority in order to promote good governance and create a harmonious society.

• CSOs must work hard in broadening their role towards good governance.

• Transparency should be the tool of the day in order to facilitate establishment of good and democratic governance.

• Reconstruction should be done before repatriation.

• Governance should be linked with reconciliation.

• Civic education should be incorporated in the education curriculum.

4-JUSTICE, RECONCILIATION, PEACE BUILDING AND RECONSTRUCTION

• Civil society work should enhance “a culture of peace” and advocate for the establishment of a reconciliation commission . Reconciliation at community level need much more emphasis

• CSOs to continue playing an active and independent role in the follow up of the implementation of the CPA (Ref. Oslo CSO Statement; We for our part pledge that the Sudanese civil Society will play a full, active and independent role in supporting the implementation of the CPA as watchdogs and advocates and actors. We recognize this as our duty whilst also claiming it as our right).

• Advocate for stronger involvement of women in reconciliation processes.

• Advocate for confidence building in GNU; they are not speaking with one voice.

• Capacity building of civil society must be given priority by both government and donors

• Militias must be brought under control.

5- THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN POST CONFLICT SUDAN

• Advocate for reforms of the existing laws in order to have both men and women treated on equal basis.

• Affirmative action should be adopted in the Sudan to achieve gender equity.

• Women capacity should be enhanced in every sector e.g. through vocational training for women to equip them with various skills.

• Compulsory education for all should be initiated to promote girl-child education.

• Follow up of the implementation of the 25% affirmative action for women should be enforced.

• The use of media in awareness creation of women’s rights is crucial.

• Need for sensitization of both men and women on issues related to gender equality and women’s rights.

• Massive campaigns to highlight women plights e.g. marginalization should be carried out.

• Need for research on detrimental traditional laws e.g. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in order to replace them with laws that are pro-women.

• More women should be exposed and elevated to high institutional positions in order for them to serve as role models to the younger generation.

• CSOs must lead the illiteracy campaign.

6- CIVIC EDUCATION

• CSOs should develop joint programs for CPA dissemination.

• Social gatherings should be used as opportunity to raise awareness on civic education e.g. at churches, mosques e.t.c.

• The CPA should be translated into different local languages to give chance to a wider reading and understanding of the CPA.

• Reconciliation, awareness raising, governance, human rights should be incorporated into school curriculum.

• There is need to hold CSOs dialogues to deliberate on way forward as far as the CPA is concerned.

7- EDUCATION AND LITERACY

• Governments should have a program to reconstruct schools that were destroyed during the war.

• Peace education should be incorporated in school curriculum.

• CSOs should advocate for increase in the funds allocated towards education from the current 25% only of governments’ budgets.

• Sudan should be open to learn from other post-conflict countries on how to address illiteracy challenges.

• CSOs from both North and South should launch campaigns in order to exterminate the challenge of illiteracy.

• Harmonized education systems should be put in place in Southern Sudan.

• All national curricula should strictly adhere to human rights and free from conflict sustainability and balanced cultural advocacy
8- RESOURCE MOBILIZATION, UTILIZATION AND MULTI DONOR TRUST FUNDS (MDTFs)

• Map out an action oriented strategy for fund raising for CSOs activities.

• CSOs should look for mechanisms for exchange of information, human resource and share existing material base.

• There is need for tapping national resources.

• Mobilize funds for training and developing of training manuals.

• Prepare and equip the CSOs for the purposes of monitoring the CPA, the election and the referendum, and find mechanism to ensure free and fair elections and referendum.

• Establish mechanisms for maintaining and influencing the MDTFs and UN intervention.

• Improve partnership with INGOs to ensure capacity building for CSOs.

9- INSTITUTION CAPACITY BUILDING VIS-A- VIS GENDER MAINSTREAMING

• CSOs should develop realistic project /programmes, plans and objectives

• Promote the formation of institutions.

• Partnership between the INGOs and local NGOs should be on equal footing; not treating the latter as a weaker partner, the government should come up with pro-local NGOs/ CBOs strategies/policies.

• Promotion of good governance and good communication lines/channels between government and NGOs is essential.

• Formation of a national independent body to monitor the work of NGOs both local and international; Government should set measures on how the INGOs should operate in Sudan.

• Local NGOs should set out the priorities/ needs of the communities to donors for direct funding or through networks.

• Promote NGOs which work towards advancing gender issues.

• Develop policies that guide the formation of associations.

• Institutional mapping of CSOs should be carried out to find out where they operate, what activities they are implementing e.t.c
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10- POVERTY ERADICATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Advocacy and lobby activities should be carried out to influence government policies to be pro- poor.

• Conduct research on poverty in the Country.

• Advocate and lobby for MDGs realization.

• Raise awareness on good governance.

• CBOs should focus on small self-help groups for economic empowerment and information sharing.

• Capacity building for CBOs is very crucial.
• Develop community resource centres.

• Focus should be put on marginalized and socially excluded groups (e.g. women, children, the physically challenged e.t.c).

• Need for follow up on conclusion statements and recommendations in CBOs Conferences.

• Oil money must reach the grass roots and funds for future generation and environment sustainability must be catered by GNU, GOSS and Oil Companies

11- DEPT RELEIF

The World Bank can’t continue as manager for peace dividends provided by the International Donors. We appeal here that the Bank may relief some of our national debt to establish a special fund for implementation of the attached action plan